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Jackson Armstrong on KDKA Pittsburgh | October 12, 1975

Listening to this you’ll NEVER believe that it’s your LEEEEEEEeeeeeeaaader! from KB and elsewhere! Jack Armstrong has to be one of the most versatile jaws in radio, and to be working for Westinghouse Broadcasting…. who woulda thunk?

You’ll never believe this until you hear it. This is the MOR KDKA which was more soft and old sounding than it’s Boston counterpart WBZ 1030 was in ’75. But, it’s a special aircheck for a number of reasons, a subdued Armstrong is one, and the fact that this is really the first real KDKA aircheck we have on the site.

As the person who taped this originally, I should clarify something. To my knowledge, this was Armstrong’s ONLY appearance on KDKA. It was a Sunday morning shortly after he left 13Q, and I have always assumed it was an on-air audition. Unfortunately, I came across it only near the very end of his shift, which is why there is so little of it here. Ironically, on the basis of this aircheck, which was recorded entirely by chance, KDKA seems to turn up on a lot of Armstrong résumés and in a number of his obituaries.

More soft and old-sounding than WBZ in 1975? *I* thought they were **BOTH** pop/adult- (now called adult contemporary)rock stations that year! And this version of KDKA does sound softer than when both stations (sister stations, yet) were Top 40 in that it’s soft rock. And if it is old-sounding, it’s probably in that it’s full-service just like its traditional MOR (traditional pop music with or without occasional soft rock) counterparts.

Thanks for posting. And I might add that I was glad to hear the name John Hadar also on this air check. I worked w/John at KD in 1979 and he was by far one of the nicest men I’ve ever met in radio. A true gem! John also was in the countless Thorofare (spelling?!?) grocery store TV commercials as well.

Thanks that brought back memories for someone who now lives in Iowa and has a radio show on Spreaker. I pattern my newscast based on how John Haydar did the news on KDKA. I was a big KDKA fan Please find some airchecks of Jack Bogut, Art Pallen, and other memorable KDKA Jocks. They were an influence on a young impressionable kid wanting to be a DJ